2020 Latest Trends in Online Dating

As with most things on the internet, the latest trends seem to come out of nowhere. While many will disappear almost as soon as they arrive, there are some trends that will stay for a while. 2020 has been no different in terms of developing new trends in online dating, but with the current COVID-19 pandemic, it has managed to amplify some of these trends as more people stay at home and practice social distancing.

What follows are a few of the online dating trends that have popped up this year or started to emerge last year, only to gain new prominence as more people started spending more time at home.

Dogfishing

Although the term was coined late last year, it has become far more prominent in online dating circles. This is most likely due to its effectiveness and mimicking a popular dating trend that has been around for decades.

Dogfishing is when someone uses a pet, sometimes their pets or sometimes they borrow a pet from a friend or family member to attract others. Just like sitting at the dog park with a cute pooch, so too are online daters using photos of their pets to call attention to them. Plus, there are lots of people it seems who will date others just to walk their dog or play with their cat.

Eclipsing

This is actually a very old trend that thanks to social media has new life in online dating. It's when someone starts tagging into your social media groups, joins in with online chats on dating sites, and then suddenly starts taking up your hobbies.

Well, it is one way to get to know someone even if it may come across as a bit creepy. With the distance provided by being online, it is a trend that has grown considerable. However, you do have the option to cut them out of your online life quickly if you feel uncomfortable.

Flashpanning

Most would agree that the initial stages of dating can be some of the most exciting. The anticipation, the discovery of new things, the feeling of wanting to be with someone when they are not there. It is why this early stage is often called the honeymoon period in dating.

And then once this part of the relationship is over, they are gone. Just like that.

It's certainly not fun for the victim of flashpanning, but sadly it is a trend that has been growing over time. With so many locked down in 2020, it has only become worse in some ways.

Keanu-ing

Leave it to Keanu Reeves to come up with a dating trend that seems to have gained some momentum in 2020. Last year, Keanu Reeves and Alexandra Grant made their relationship public and the result was a firestorm of comments about how Grant resembled the considerably older, though no less attractive Helen Mirren. Although Grant is close to the same age as Reeves, expectations were that the couple didn't seem to belong together.

However, a side effect was a dating trend that became known as Keanu-ing. Where two people that you never thought would be together are dating. That trend has managed to make its way online as more people are looking for someone that they may seem to have little in common with. The good news is that this trend has helped people broaden their expectations and some find the right person all thanks to Keanu-ing.

Rossing

For those familiar with the popular sit-com "Friends", they will know this one. The online dating version is when you are in the early stages of a relationship, but nothing is official yet. Because of a lack of communication or simply not wanting to make things official, that person will then date someone else.

While it may not quite be the "We were on a break" excuse that Ross from "Friends" used, it is a trend that has been growing over the years and only seems stronger than ever in 2020.

Stashing

This online dating trend is a variation of hiding the weird uncle or crazy cousin from your prospective date. Although the term was created around the beginning of 2020, it basically means someone who does not tag their prospective dates on their social media when posting images or stories about their friends and family.

It is both to hide what might be an embarrassing family member from you. But it also can mean hiding you from them, so they are not making your relationship "official". By keeping you out of their friend or family online circle, their options remain open.